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Is really Meopta S2 82 + 30-60x as good as the Nikon, Leica, Kowa and Swarovski..? (1 Viewer)

The Kingfisher

Well-known member
I am considering to order a Meopta S2 82 HD with 30-60x eyepiece to test it against my Nikon ED82. My wish is to have a spotting scope with high optical quality and a zoom with a field of view equivalent to Nikon's fixed eyepieces.

I have a friend who is interested in buying my Nikon ED82 with 30x DS + 25-75x zoom, but the question is whether it is even worthwhile to order the Meopta to test it!? Is that scope really in the same optical league as the Nikon ED82?

My ED82 is as good as the Kowa 883, Swarovski ATX, Leica APO Televid etc with the 30x DS or 50x DS attached to the scope. Is really Meopta S2 82 in the same league as Nikon, Kowa, Leica and Swarovski? Honestly??

The Meopta has received fine reviews, but I have also read that it is not very color-neutral (it has a yellow color balance) and it shows some distortion at 30x magnification. Is this correct? I tested the new Zeiss with 20-75x zoom and I saw a lot of distortion at 20x magnification with that combination. I did not like it. Absolutely nothing for me, I must say! Is the Meopta worse or better than the Zeiss regarding distortion?

Certainly..I can order the Meopta and do my own test, but if you guys already now can confirm that the Meopta S2 82 with 30-60x zoom have some (or a lot) distortion at 30x power and maybe also has a clear yellow color cast (more than the Kowa 883?)..yes, then the case is closed and I am not ordering one. I would like to avoid the hassle of having to send back the scope to the dealer if I can.. ;)
 
I have the Meopta, Kingfisher. I've had it a year but haven't used it much. I think it is optically the best scope I've owned (and that includes Swaro ATS 80, Nikon Fieldscope 82 and Zeiss 85). I haven't noticed any yellow cast. The FOV is excellent, and sharp right across. The price you pay for the parfocal zoom and constant AFOV is distortion at lower powers, but that hasn't bothered me. I hate the stay-on case, but I hate all stay-on cases (except the snug neoprene one on the 'old' Zeiss). But don't take my word for it, wait for smarter folk than I to comment!
 
I have the Meopta, Kingfisher. I've had it a year but haven't used it much. I think it is optically the best scope I've owned (and that includes Swaro ATS 80, Nikon Fieldscope 82 and Zeiss 85). I haven't noticed any yellow cast. The FOV is excellent, and sharp right across. The price you pay for the parfocal zoom and constant AFOV is distortion at lower powers, but that hasn't bothered me. I hate the stay-on case, but I hate all stay-on cases (except the snug neoprene one on the 'old' Zeiss). But don't take my word for it, wait for smarter folk than I to comment!

No comment on the scope which I've never seen.

What about the Solitary Esophagus, Sancho, added that to your life list yet? The last one I saw was in the empty sky, sleeping on motionless wing. . .. ;
 
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Thanks for your opinions!

I have a feeling that I will not like the Meopta due to distortion at low magnifications - but at the same time, I should probably have to try the scope my self before I completely exclude it as an option. I am (after all) still a little curious about it!
 
I have one - there is some distortion when panning at the lowest mag - but in reality the optics are so good and bright that I have found that I rarely use the scope at this magnification so it isn't a problem.
 
Is the distortion equal, more or less apparent than in the Zeiss Diascope 85 with 20-75x zoom?

Sorry I can't answer this as I've not seen the newer Zeiss. But I'll second what Morgan says....panning distortion at low mag is significant, but it doesn't bother me and if I'm panning while viewing, for example, a flying seabird, I don't notice the distortion. Also, like Morgan, I tend to use the mag at 40x and above.
 
Kingfisher,

The distortion in the Meopta Meostar 30-60x WA zoom is pretty pronounced barrel distortion (angular magnification distortion) at low magnifications, meaning that the magnification of the image reduces markedly towards the extreme edges of the view. This makes straight lines near the edges look like they are curved outwards, and causes the image to roll when you pan. However, the field of view is extremely wide even at 30x, and the image remains very sharp all the way to the extreme edge. I found the rolling ball quite strong and somewhat irritating when I tested the scope, but nevertheless think that I would have gotten used to it. I do think this is an excellent eyepiece and well worth trying out.

The main reason I was not wild about the 30-60x WA was because I liked the 20-70x standard zoom so much. It has almost as wide a field at 20x as the WA at 30x, and extending to 70x it brings you much closer to the maximum resolving power of the scope. It also has good eye relief throughout the range, is sharp to the edge and very easy to view with.

Overall the optical quality of the few Meopta scopes I have seen, including the one I tested, has been about equal to the best units of the ED 82 A Fieldscope I have seen, and that means very high indeed. However, since you already have the Fieldscope, and according to you your specimen is very good, the only thing you would be getting with the Meopta scope is swapping the fixed WA ep's for a zoom or two, and you would have to pay a fair bit for that "upgrade." The point here is that no matter how well a scope is designed or built, it cannot perform better than what its aperture allows, and good specimens of the 88 mm Kowa and the 95 mm Swarovski are so good that even a perfect 82 cannot equal them.

So, if I were in your situation, I would either get the ATX 95 or the Kowa 883 with the 25-60x zoom and the upcoming 1,6x extender. Both of those options would be a more marked improvement over your present gear than the Meopta.

Hope this helps,

Kimmo
 
This scope is certainly on my radar if I supplement my 50mm instrument with a larger scope .... but how widely available is it in the UK? An internet search didn't throw up any well known dealers who regularly seem to carry the model.
 
Kimmo..

Thank you for your post. I had already decided that the Meopta is nothing for me..but your post makes me even more confident with my decision. The 20-70x is probably optically very good, but do not have the large field of view that I wish it would have. As you say, it feels like it is either Swarovski ATX 95 with 30-70x (or ATX 85 with 25-60x) or Kowa 883 with 25-60x that are the wisest choices for me.

A dealer said that I should take a look at the Leica 82, which I dismissed quite early because of the bad focusing. Can not remember how the Leica handled chromatic aberration or how good the edge sharpness was, but I do remember that the color balance was fine. Very similar to Nikon EDG if I'm not mistaken.

Nah, I think Swarovski ATX or Kowa 883 is the most right way to go. I'm not certainly so fond of two small focus wheels and the Kowa has a slightly yellow color cast, but it has the most comfortable zoom of all, I think. With the ATX I must overcome my negative feeling of the "divisible concept" and that the zooming is done next to the focus. On Falsterbo Bird Show in the beginning of september I'll take me a closer look at both the Kowa and the Swarovski - it will be fun and rewarding, I hope.. :)
 
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the Meopta S2 is now in the same price range as swaro ATS80,
so it's no more a "budget" option, and the ATS80 will have higher second hand value,

I haven't tried the S2, but on paper the zooms put me off a bit,
30x is too high as standard mag for me, and 20-70x have quite low AFOV at 20x, even though I lately have realized that big AFOV comes with some downsides, and I could probably live with a bit lower AFOV.

Kowa 883 have increased price (20% since June 2015!), due to the YEN, so it's no longer cheaper than Swaro ATX (in sweden), the YEN have been quite unstable so perhaps the price will go down again.
Prices in EU seems not to be affected that much.

Buying a big scope for me is totally between Kowa 883 and ATX85/95,
leica and zeiss lagging IMO,
 
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Got the opportunity to re-test some scopes (Kowa 883, Zeiss Diascope 85, Leica APO Televid 82, Swarovski ATS 80 HD Swarovski ATX 85 and ATX 95) today..

Zeiss does not suit me at all for several different reasons and I get blackouts with the 25-50x eyepiece on the ATS 80 HD. The Leica eyepiece works quite well, but I do not get excited about the focus wheels - too "flimsy"!

The Kowa has been my favourite among those mentioned scopes and I still think it feels good to use..but after testing the Swarovski ATX 95 a bit more today than I have done previously, I must say that it is probably THE spotting scope I should buy if I should buy a new scope.

Compared with the Kowa, I feel that it is slightly sharper, has a flatter image, is more color-neutral and brighter. I feel that the AFOV is greater on the ATX 95 than the Kowa, but it may just be my imagination!? The only thing I do not really like with the ATX 95 is that it shows some chromatic aberration in the middle of the field of view at high powers. The ATX 85 was better at this point, but overall I still preferred the ATX 95. Now it's just a question of whether I have the heart to replace my beloved Nikon ED82 with 30x DS, 50x DS and 25-75x for a Swarovski ATX 95 with 30-70x or not..? I do not know yet...
 
No comment on the scope which I've never seen.

What about the Solitary Esophagus, Sancho, added that to your life list yet? The last one I saw was in the empty sky, sleeping on motionless wing. . .. ;

That's a 'Blocker', fugl...you're 'Gripping me Off' with such lurid descriptions;).
 
Got the opportunity to re-test some scopes (Kowa 883, Zeiss Diascope 85, Leica APO Televid 82, Swarovski ATS 80 HD Swarovski ATX 85 and ATX 95) today..

Zeiss does not suit me at all for several different reasons and I get blackouts with the 25-50x eyepiece on the ATS 80 HD. The Leica eyepiece works quite well, but I do not get excited about the focus wheels - too "flimsy"!

The Kowa has been my favourite among those mentioned scopes and I still think it feels good to use..but after testing the Swarovski ATX 95 a bit more today than I have done previously, I must say that it is probably THE spotting scope I should buy if I should buy a new scope.

Compared with the Kowa, I feel that it is slightly sharper, has a flatter image, is more color-neutral and brighter. I feel that the AFOV is greater on the ATX 95 than the Kowa, but it may just be my imagination!? The only thing I do not really like with the ATX 95 is that it shows some chromatic aberration in the middle of the field of view at high powers. The ATX 85 was better at this point, but overall I still preferred the ATX 95. Now it's just a question of whether I have the heart to replace my beloved Nikon ED82 with 30x DS, 50x DS and 25-75x for a Swarovski ATX 95 with 30-70x or not..? I do not know yet...

since you are used to 75x on your ED82,
I guess ATX95 is the way to go,
but don't forget that Kowa have an 1.6x extender coming up later this year
that will give 40-96x on their 883!

I found the eyecup of the swaro ATX unnecessary deep,
but there is a special eye cup for eye glass wearers which is more flat, that
gives 1-2 mm more eye relief, and makes a difference,
 

they might be selling an already stocked scope body
to the price it was before the price increase (or even slightly lower),

latest S2:s have another armour (greener color), logo placement,
otherwise it's the same optics,

seems sharp to me:

http://www.digiscopingitalia.it/test014/meopras2/meoptas2hp_01.html
 
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